WLS April fav stamp

Good Morning everyone

The first sunday of April so its time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping

The theme this month is

FAVOURITE STAMP &/or RIBBON OR LACE

adding ribbon is now optional - boy did i struggle to add it in!!

or you can always go with the anything goes theme as long as its using stamps - physical or digital

Now this is a difficult theme -  choosing a favourite stamp - I have so many that are favourites for different reasons but my first choice was these 'thistlehogs' from Pink Ink Designs as each time I see them they just make me smile and lift my spirits.  

I have a garden full of hedgehogs and who knows a few of these tiny thistlehogs may come out at night with the fairies, these guys are like the moths just flittering around in the dark😁

A5 white card blank.  I first stamped and watercoloured the thistlehogs with distress inks.  I then raided my stash and found this fab autumn skeleton leaf paper. So that the thistlehogs stood out more, I toned it down a bit by dry brushing antique white chalk paint over the top and added a little stencilling with pale teal chalk paints.  I cut it to size and matted onto pearlised teal card and then wrapped with my pale teal lace and peach satin ribbon and then added to the cardfront.

I added a bow from the same peach satin ribbon so that there was no question on the adding ribbon part! lol  Years ago i added ribbon to everything before i got into stamping, my style has changed alot since then.

I curved the bodies of the thistlehogs and added with pinflair glue gel.

I then raided my stash of chat stickers and came up with 

'Sprinkle a little Happiness every where you go'

I had to make it up out of random left over chat stickers - hence it being every where as 2 words not one! I adhered them to white card, outlined with black pen and then arranged on the front.

You can see the dimension better at this angle.

I had stamped the thistlehogs onto the leaf paper as well so that i got all the extra swirly bits around them, these i added colour to with posca paint pens in peach and teal

I added a little diamond stickles to the wings so they sparkle in the light. 

Every time i see one of 'my' real hedgehogs they make me smile, they have been out of hibernation for a couple of weeks now and it seems several have made the winter which is great......I had 6 trying to get at the food bowl in the porch.......I obviously need a bigger bowl for them😁 

Items Used:

Pink Ink designs stamp 'thistlehogs'

Patterned paper 10+ years old

Tim Holtz Chit chat stickers

Stencils

Distress Inks ' evergreen bough, cracked pistachio, dried marigold, wild honey.

Plaid 'folk art' matt paint - #515 'vintage white' #6458 'ocean view'

Posca pastel paint pens

Papermania lace & ribbon

Ranger stickles 'diamond'

Do hop over to We love stamping to join in the fun and have a chance to win a lovely prize

Prize from fairy hugs

Thank you all for stopping by and also your amazing comments on my birds nest project last week.  Spring is in the air as the birds are busy nest building at the moment......including the seagulls on our roof.

I hope you all have a good week whatever you get upto.  Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/mttc-557-theme-is-rectangle-shaped.html

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https://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/2025/03/challenge-265-fill-in-th-blank-fairy.html - tiny little thistlehogs fly among the fairies

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https://paper-rocks-scissors.blogspot.com/2025/04/april-3-challenge.html - background paper, scissors to cut out the images

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https://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/crafty-catz-challenge-691.html

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https://daisychainchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/challenge-95-not-square.html

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https://sweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/female-cards.html

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Thistlehogs among the toadstools

Good Morning everyone

Its like buses, i rarely have the honour of being a guest design and now 2 days in a row😂

Today Im honoured to be a guest designer at The fairy & the Unicorn challenge

  with an anything magical goes.   I decided to dig out my lovely thistlehog stamps and teamed them up with lots of toadstools and autumnal leaves so very seasonable.

I first made my cardbase from white cardstock and nesting dies and then cut a frame for the front and added with foam tape.  From the panel that came inside the frame i stencilled a soft background with oxide inks.  I then stencilled along the bottom with glossy glaze through a mushroom stencil, once dry i adhered the panel into the frame.

I stamped the little thistlehogs and watercoloured with distress inks and cut them out, i added shape to their bodies and adhered with glue gel.  I built up a little scene around them with transparency toadstools and die cut leaves. The little mushroom people came from another pink ink stamp set.  

Tim Holtz chat stickers that read

'those that don't believe in magic will never find it'

'dream' 'imagine' 'believe' 

Stickles glitter glue added to their little wings to finish with a touch of sparkle

Now these little thistlehogs are super tiny and super fast so we don't seem them so much but they are busy every night going about their magical work

I used distress inks - evergreen bough, tumbled glass, peacock feathers, wild honey, dried marigold and ripe persimmon to colour the them and for stencilling in the background

Im loving these PET/transparency/acetate toadstools, they are lovely to use and look so realistic.  All my leaves were cut using various scraps of ink coloured cardstock

I adhered the transparency mushrooms both flat and with glue gel so that that light can shine through some of them.  

Those who follow me know I have a garden full of full size hedgehogs & lots that visit nightly.  Just last week we've had 3 late babies out feeding in the day time so we will hopefully get them fattened up nicely for hibernation.  My old cat is very protective of them when they come out in the daytime.  

Items Used:

Pink Ink designs stamps 'thistlehogs'& 'shitake happens'

Lavinia stencil 'pods'

Paperartsy stencil 'PS179'

Distress inks & oxides

Toadstool transparancy/acetate

Cosmic shimmer glossy glaze 'daydream yellow'

Stitched nesting dies 

leaf dies

Thank you all for stopping by, please do hop over to thefairyandtheunicorn to join in the fun.  I hope you have a good week. Hugs Emmaxx

Id also love to enter this card in the following:

https://bastel-traum.blogspot.com/2023/09/126-herbststimmung-autumn-mood.html

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https://mixitupchallenge.blogspot.com/2023/11/miucb-68-anything-goes-optional.html

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https://cutitupchallenges.blogspot.com/2023/11/cut-it-challenge-290-layer-it-up.html

 

Blue thistlehogs

Good Morning everyone.

I decided to use some of the kraft card blanks a friend sent me with the pink ink thistlehog stamps, although since Steph said she thought they looked like bats i can see that they are a bit batty too😀 being magical creatures they come in any colour but today they are very blue with very glittery wings😁

5x5" kraft card base.  I stamped the thistle hogs onto kraft card and watecoloured with oxide inks tumbled glass, salvaged patina & dried marigold, added touches of white posca pen to highlight and cut them out.  I stamped it again onto more kraft card and stamped lavinia stamps 'spiral of dreams' stamp in grey, i die cut into a stitched square and mounted onto a larger square of kraft card which i had coloured with the blue oxide inks and then adhered to the base card.  I gently curved the thistle hog and decoupaged him onto the base with glue gel.  

Stamped greeting and diamond stickles glitter on the wings to finish.

Version 2.  I stamped the thistlehog twice once direct on the base card & again onto more kraft card and again watercoloured with the oxide inks and cut out.  Stamped the  believe sentiment direct on the base and splattered on some of the oxide inks to the background and inked the edges of the base card after rounding the corners.

I then added the thistlehog with glue gel.  

Items Used:

Pink Ink stamps 'thistlehogs'

Lavinia stamps 'sprial of dreams'

Inkylicious stamps 'believe'

Sentiment stamp dream

Distress oxide inks tumbled glass, salvaged patina, dried marigold

Ranger stickles diamond

Kraft card

Not the best photos but i did catch these of my new baby hedgehogs this year in the porch last night.......... they don't have wings like the thistlehogs but they are still soooooooooooooo cute, they would easily fit in the palm of my hand

Thank you all for stopping by.  I hope you all have a good week. Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://lovetocraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2022/07/ltccb-69-anything-goes-ltccb-68-winner.html

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https://thefairyandtheunicornchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/07/july-2022-challenge.html

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Thistlehogs

Good Morning everyone

I was talking to a friend about all my hedgehogs as i was worried about the scaffolding and building work upsetting them but the chaps were very good and checked before squashing any so im delighted to have so many about again this year in my bijou garden....they do visit from neighbouring areas.  Anyway my crafty friend would love a few in her garden so i thought it was the ideal excuse to dig out the pink ink thistlehog stamps again and make her a card.  

5x8" Kraft card base.  I first stamped the thistlehogs in brown ink on white and watercoloured with distress inks, i wanted the bodies to be purple as its my friends fav colour, so i went with yellowy/orange wings to contrast, i then cut them out.  I looked through my giant pile of pre made backgrounds and found one made with brusho's and pixie powders that was mainly green with touches of orange which was ideal for my thistlehogs and looked like they are flying through the garden.  

To tone down my background a bit and add more detail i used a lavinia flower mask and white gesso, this added a softer feel but let the mica shimmer through where the gesso wasn't.  I them stamped the thistlehogs on the background where i wanted them so that i had all the little extra details around them and then mounted my coloured ones on top with glue gel.  I doodled around the outside edge with black fineliner using similar details to those in the thistlehogs to tie it together and then mounted the panel onto the basecard.

I stamped 2 of the katzelkraft words onto kraft card offcuts, cut to size and glued onto the front...I didn't stamp the words direct onto the background due to all the mica/pixie powders which doesn't always like being stamped over.  Glitter glue added to the wings to finish.

I think you can just make out the shimmer of the mica in the pixie powders here

and here you can see the white gesso flowers, the background really comes to life when the light hits it.

I hope these guys aren't the size of real hedgehogs, as not sure i fancy a fully grown hedgehog flying towards me with all those spikes😁

Items Used:

Pink ink Stamps 'thistlehogs'

Katzelkraft stamps 'carpe diem quotes'

Lavinia stamps - 'flower mask'

Brushos

Cosmic shimmer pixie powders

Distress Inks - shaded lilac, dusky Concorde,seedless preserve, squeezed lemonade, ripe persimmon, wild honey

White gesso

CraftUk ltd white smooth card, kraft card

Thank you all for stopping by.  I hope you have a good day. Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2022/06/week-682.html

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https://papercraft-challenges.blogspot.com/2022/06/challenge-83-for-girls.html

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http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/2022/06/challenge-554-summer-colours.html

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Thistlehogs

Good Morning everyone.

More thank you cards today.  I was naughty in the black friday sales and a few pink ink stamps fell into my basket.  These thistlehogs stamps flew into my basket as you how i love my hedgehogs.  Totally flat cards which is rare for me.

5x7" cardbase.  I stamped the images onto white card and die cut into stitched rectangles.   I then simply watercoloured them with distress inks and added a yellow wash around them and stencilled diamonds - that was trying out my new stencil!  Stamped sentiment and a touch of glitter glue on the wings to finish.  Matted onto turquoise blue card and then base.

Version 2.  Id love to see a few of these in my garden flittering among the flowers

I also bought this fungi stamp.  Made the same way and with the same colours, i just added the sentiment to the side as couldn't fit it on the topper nicely.

 

Items Used:

Pink Ink Stamps - thistlehogs & shitake happens

Stampin up sentiment curly cute

Double stitched rectangle dies

Aall&create stencil - diamonds

Distress inks - Squeezed Lemonade, cracked pistachio, evergreen, ripe persimmon, shaded lilac

Ranger diamond stickles

Thank you all for stopping by once again..  I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and have a good weekend.  

Id love to enter the following with my first card:

http://getcreativechallenges.blogspot.com/2022/01/ch-107-anything-goes-happy-hello.html

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https://www.welovestamping.co.uk/2022/01/january-anything-stamped-with-option-of.html

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http://addictedtostamps-challenge.blogspot.com/2022/01/challenge-421-make-your-mark.html

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